It was not pretty, but it was a victory none the less for Scotland County as the Tigers celebrated Courtwarming with a 48-42 victory over Knox County on Friday night in Memphis.

SCR-I fell behind early, as Knox County jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Kyle Shelley scored in the paint. Dakota Wells hit a three pointer but Knox County still led 10-5 at the end of the first period.

Harley Stone converted back-to-back baskets to open the second quarter and Kasey Dial added a field goal but Knox still led 14-11 with 3:06 to play in the first half. The Eagles then went on a 7-0 run before Stone scored in the paint making it 21-16 at the intermission.

Harley Stone drives the baseline around a Knox County defender. The sophomore forward had a big game on Friday night to help SCR-I go 1-0 in conference play.

Scotland County turned the game around in the third period. Dial hit a three pointer to open the second half. Stone continued his solid scoring performance with a hoop underneath the basket to pull the Tigers within two points. The rally came full circle when Shelley made a big block on the defensive end and Dial followed up a missed opportunity on the fast break with a score on the offensive rebound to knot the score at 23-23 with 5:36 to play in the period.

A bit of indecision on the offensive end prompted Coach Lance Campbell to give his leading scorer an earful.

ďShoot the ball Kasey,Ē Campbell shouted at the junior guard after he committed a turnover instead of taking a shot.

The simple instruction worked as Dial hit a pair of three pointers, the second of which put his team on top 31-25 with 1:41 left on the clock. Wells followed that up with a three pointer before Knox County responded with a shot from behind the arc that left the SCR-I advantage at 34-31 heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Neither team got much offense going in the first minutes of the fourth quarter. SCR-I finally got on the board with a basket by Brandon Garnett on a nice pass from Shelley. Stone extended the margin to 38-33 when he hit a jumper from the wing.

Baskets by Garnett and Stone were answered by a Knox County run that left SCR-I on top by only two points. Drew Miller somehow got a shot off between a pair of Eagles defenders on the fast break to extend the lead before Dial followed it up with a high arcing shot over a would-be Knox County shot-blocker, to make it 46-42 with 1:12 left in the contest.

The Tigers struggled at the free throw line, leaving the door open for a late Knox County rally. SCR-I made just two of five from the charity stripe in the final 60 seconds but a technical foul on Knox County seemed to sap all of the energy from any late rally attempt allowing SCR-I to hold on for the 48-42 win.